ArtPrize Nine: Ready or Not….

Love it? Hate It? or just ambivalent? Either way, it doesn’t matter because ArtPrize Nine arrives in Grand Rapids from September 20 through October 8 and this year it is bigger than ever.

ArtPrize, an open and independently organized international art competition taking  place each fall in Grand Rapids, awards more than $500,000 in prizes each year.

But ArtPrize is so much more than just the prize money as the city rolls out the red carpet to artists, venues, curators, and educators to welcome their contributions to this annual art competition. 

In addition, ArtPrize offers music events, performance art, a movie series, and a Critical Discourse speaker series, which brings art experts to Grand Rapids to share insights and enable discussions all about art. 

There is even an series of education days where nearly 19,000 PreK-12th grade students from 203 schools in 59 school districts across Michigan attend ArtPrize for field trips and additional learning experiences.

All told since 2009, more than 2.9 million visitors have cast 3.2 million votes as artists from near and far around the world have received $4.1 million in prize money.

So however you choose (or not) to experience ArtPrize this year, just remember there are no shortages of events to sample the many diverse offerings of ArtPrize Nine.